black list

Idioms  

1. A list of persons or things considered undesirable or deserving punishment, as in Japanese beetles are on my black list of garden pests. The practice of making such lists is quite old. Notorious examples include the late 19th-century black lists of union members whom employers would not hire and the black lists of persons suspected of being Communists as a result of the hearings held by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy in the early 1950s. Today the term is also used more loosely, as in the example. [Early 1600s] Also see black book, def. 1.

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Example Sentences

Saturated fat has been taken off the black list.

From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026

The data protection agency said that the tax authorities stopped using the black list in February 2020.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2022

House managers maintain a black list of those who don’t wear the proper clothes, follow directives, show enough initiative, arrive on time or at all.

From New York Times • Mar. 6, 2018

Those on Beijing’s black list, the officials said, include the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and two leaders of the World Uyghur Congress, Dolkun Isa and Rebiya Kadeer.

From Reuters • Oct. 6, 2015

The personalities of the satire excited a keen interest, and much amusement to readers who were not included in Pope's black list of dunces.

From The Age of Pope (1700-1744) by Dennis, John

Related Words

• censure
• criticism
• denunciation
• discontent
• dislike
• displeasure
• dissatisfaction
• objection